"Yeti was going to be trouble": Elliotte Friedman gives honest opinion around Utah Hockey Club trademark hurdles

NHL insider Elliotte Friedman highlighted the trademark hurdles the Utah Hockey Club is facing regarding naming their team. During Friday’s edition of “32 Thoughts: The Podcast,” Friedman pointed out that while fans were all for naming the team the Yetis, trademark issues had stalled the process.

“Now, I think everybody knew Yeti was going to be a problem, like when we talked about whether or not they should call themselves just Utah AC or Utah HC,” Friedman said. “One of the reasons that was being discussed is because they knew that ‘Yeti’ was going to be trouble.”

The US Patents and Trademark Office on Jan. 9 denied the franchise’s application to rename the franchise the Utah Yetis. An official statement from their office said that the name was infringing on the copyright label of YETI, an outdoor recreation product company based in Austin, Texas.

"Trademark Act Section 2(d) bars registration of an applied-for mark that is so similar to a registered mark that it is likely consumers would be confused, mistaken, or deceived as to the commercial source of the goods and/or services of the parties," the statement said via KSL.com.

On Thursday, the Utah Hockey Club secured a 4-0 win over the Minnesota Wild, their third straight victory this month. Their win streak includes a 5-2 win against the Western Conference toppers Winnipeg Jets on Monday. Friedman commented that Utah were back in the playoff race given their recent form.

The name ‘Utah Hockey Club’ also might not stick

Elliotte Friedman also discussed the legal obstacles to Utah keeping their current branding.

The Utah Hockey Club bear. (Credit: IMAGN)

The team's temporary name has also been challenged because, "the applied-for mark is primarily geographically descriptive of the origin of applicant's goods and/or services," KSL.com reporter Ryan Miller said.

Friedman raised the example of US franchises in the MLS whose names are similar to Utah Hockey Club, like DC United, FC Cincinnati and Nashville SC.

“How come those teams can get those names and Utah Hockey Club, or because initially they put Utah Hockey Club, and it was, it wasn't approved?” Friedman added.

“And someone explained to me that this is sort of the initial judgment. It's not the permanent judgment, so don't necessarily think that any of these can't or won't happen yet. And someone said to me also, you're not on the wrong track. They think eventually Utah Hockey Club would get approved, but it was that one was just weird to me.”

Utah is next in action against the Winnipeg Jets on Friday.